ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. craft — boats
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. wound — an injury
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. mate — a friend
  8. file — a document
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. craft — a skill
  11. clip — a video
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. tear — to rip
  14. chair — a leader
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. tear — from crying
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mate — to breed
  20. clip — for paper
  21. file — a tool
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mate — a partner

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com